First a story that provides some background for my decision to fly through the storm on the ground.

I was sailing before I was a glider pilot. I was in Plymouth Ma, and was about the take a launch out to our boat, but the approaching weather look realy bad. Very dark, and as it got closer a viable green color in the clouds.. No wind yet, but we could hear thunder and see lightning. As we were about to step onto the launch, a told the captain of the open launch, we would wait this out on shore. As we got back to the club house it hit with a vengeance. One inch hail, 50kt winds, but most important for this story, the flag held straight out, slowly wrapped once around the flag pole over the course of the 5 to 10min event. So at full strength the wind rotated a full 360 deg.

Fast forward 15 years, and I am returning to Mifflin from the west, dodging thunder storms. I was almost home, but had 7 miles of unlandable terrain between me and home. I decided better to land now. That is when I found the airport looked like all the other perfect 4000 foot long fields. Anyway, found it, and whether it offered any protection or not, I did not want to be out side in the plentiful lightning. Also I knew the wind direction could change. So I stayed in the glider. I kept on the brakes, reflexed the flaps (304cz) did not put on the dive breaks (in the 304 full dive breaks.. puts landing flap in) and mostly kept the nose down with the stick. Over the course of the event, the wind rotated about 120 deg. I could keep it into the wind easly. It worked out well, but I would never want to repeat it.

Shifting back to the sailing story, we went out to our boat right after the storm to check for damage. We were greated with an inch of hail accumulation the deck, but all else was fine. I went below and turned on the radio, to hear some poor soul in the Cape cod canal wanting to know if there was traffic (read BIG trafic) as his viability was near zero.

"Cape cod canal traffic... ouch... this is sailing vessel... ouh... bla bla, please... ouch ... advise of any traffic... ****..." as he tried to dodge the hail on deck...